The Mandarda are fairly common in Perth and are incredibly cute! Though, there small size makes them vulnerable to cat attacks. So, remember to keep your cats indoors!
Will they visit?: Western Pygmy Possum are known to visit home gardens located near reserves, parks, or bushland
Natural Distribution: Widespread and common throughout the South West and the Perth region.
Western Pygmy Possum – (CC)Mark Hura. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Western Pygmy Possum – (CC)Robert Browne-Cooper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Western Pygmy Possum – (CC)Robert Browne-Cooper. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Western Pygmy Possum – (CC)Tim Bawden. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Habitat at a Glance
See Habitat Guide for more detail
Shelter: Hollows in large trees, balga skirts, and constructed nestboxes
Diet: Nectar, pollen, fruit, foliage, and invertebrates
Water: Shallow dish in canopy
ReWild Benefit: Pollination
Habitat Guide - Shelter
Natural Shelter
During the winter months, these little marsupials will hibernate for several days at a time. They will build nests and hibernate inside hollows of large trees and within the skirts of balgas.
Novel Shelter
Below is a habitat box template for Western Pygmy Possum. Ideally, install the box on a mature tree close to the main trunk or a thick horizontal limb. Ensure the box is inaccessible to resident dogs or cats. Before you build:
Nest-boxes are a long-term commitment and need maintenance and repair over time.
Chipboard is okay, but degrade after a year of use.
Hardier and untreated timber (i.e. Jarrah) will last longer and are less prone to attack by fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms.
Keep away from treated timber as this can emit fumes toxic to wildlife and their young.
Avoid using metal wire inside a box. A wooden ladder on the inside of the nest-box is much more suitable or grooved timber will work well.
Maintenance is critical to ensure wildlife remain safe. Last thing you want is a side panel falling off with an animal or its young still living inside.
Habitat Guide - Food and Water
Providing natural sources of food
During the night they eat nectar and pollen from banksias, hakeas, bottlebrushes and gum trees. When flowers are scarce they also eat fruit, seeds, spiders, and insects. If you would like these heart-melting little marsupials in your garden make sure you plant a large array of habitat shrubs and trees.
Providing sources of water
A shallow dish filled with pebbles and hung up within the canopy will be visited by any thirty pygmy possums. Any water needs to have an easy exit incase a pygmy possum fell into the water.
ReWild Benefits
Western pygmy possums are pollinators and help maintain biodiversity across the landscape. The most helpful actions you can take to help local pygmy possums is to grow a wildlife garden and to keep your cats confined. If you see them foraging in your garden, you can record your sighting on Atlas of Living Australia!
